Tammy Baldwin: “over the last several days and weeks, I have heard a lot of discussion from some of my colleagues here in the Senate and…”

“over the last several days and weeks, I have heard a lot of discussion from some of my colleagues here in the Senate and in the House of Representatives about what they consider to be inappropriate congressionally directed spending projects. The majority of those projects appear to be objectionable simply because the organization involved provides services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. First, let me say that all of the CDS projects identified in the Labor-HHS-Education bill were in the Senate bill that was reported out of the Appropriations Committee last summer by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 26 to 2. Second, and more importantly, I am deeply concerned about why these projects are being singled out. They are being singled out and discriminated against because they serve a particular group of Americans, a group of Americans whom every single one of us in this Chamber represents. We all have gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender constituents, and just like any other group of constituents, they are deserving of getting healthcare, mental health care, affordable housing, and a little help to lead a successful life. However, the bullying campaign against organizations that help people who are just living their true, authentic lives is just wrong. For example, one project singled out provides services for LGBTQ seniors as part of a housing project. The project is to help low-income seniors age in place.…”